Key West Pottery Success Secret in Building a Pottery Business That Makes 10K Pots a Year

The Artist APPEALS: The 7 Step System to Make Money with Your Art

Joining us today are husband and wife Adam Russell and Kelly Lever of Key West Pottery. And they are here to sit down and share with us how they got into the pottery business and their process of managing a thriving business.

As artists, we don’t learn entrepreneurship in school. We’re continuously taught the theories and rich techniques for perfecting our craft. And once we set our wings out there, whether you admit it or not, we struggle with the business side of things most of the time.

Our guests couldn’t agree more with that. Adam and Kelly were painters turned potters who eventually learned the ropes of running a business.

They started as a young couple in Toledo, Ohio, who found good opportunities to begin anew in Key West, Florida.

What started as a small business selling in art fairs has become a full-time pottery business in multiple locations and with a team. And now they’re making up to 10,000 pots a year in varying sizes, doing commission works, and running an art gallery.

Key Takeaways:

Introduction (00:00)

Meet Adam and Kelly (00:42)

Rapid fire questions answered (02:46)

How Adam and Kelly started Key West Pottery (24:20)

Tips for hiring a staff (40:00)

How to be consistent with social media postings (43:27)

Photography tips and tricks (47:23)

On licensing and contracts (57:34)

What’s the commission process for sculptors? (01:02:48)

How do you measure success and happiness? (01:06:46)

Additional Resources:

- Connect with Adam and Kelly here

- Learn more on how to make money as an artist here

- Visit my website here

- Book a free 15-minute diagnostic call here

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The Artist APPEALS is a podcast dedicated to artists who want to learn how to make money with their art WITHOUT having to compromise.

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